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Strażnik Trumny (2012)

by Wenguang Huang(Favorite Author)

3.71 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Czarne

review 1: When I started reading The Little Red Guard, I thought I was in for just another run-of-the-mill memoir growing up oppressed by Communism. However, I was pleasantly surprised with Wenguang Huang’s fresh take on the subject; maybe the content was similar to other books covering the same time period of the 1970s, but the lens through which Huang views the era makes this a compelling and unique read. Huang’s grandmother spends years fixated on her inevitable death and funeral. In an era where traditional funerals are illegal (cremation being the state sanctioned way to go), Huang’s grandmother implores her son to prepare for her funeral in advance. The filial son’s devotion to his mother and preparations for the funeral have major ramifications on the everyday life of... more Huang’s family. In addition to exploring the various plans his father makes for the funeral, Huang discusses the relationships in his family - complex relationships that undergo a lot of stress thanks to the grandmother’s machinations, schools’ influences and parental pressure to succeed. The Little Red Guard is an excellent, well-written book that I would highly recommend to anyone, not just fans of history or memoirs. Note: I received this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Program.
review 2: A Chinese Family obsessed with making and hiding grandma's coffin during the time of Mao when traditional burials were against the law is the underlying theme in this biography. What appears as the father's obsession to grant the grandmother's wish for the traditional funeral is later seen as the cohesive force that bound the family together during the Mao era, giving the "family a common purpose hope and comfort they sorely needed"Special note: The author met and was influenced by Professor Robert Crowley from the former Sangamon State University in Springfield, Illinois now known as University of Illinois, Springfield, 90 miles from where I live. less

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